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Vital

Play trailer Poster for Vital R 2004 1h 26m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Following a devastating car accident that took both his memory and the life of his girlfriend (Nami Tsukamoto), Hiroshi Takagi (Tadanobu Asano) begins searching for answers. When he happens upon an anatomy textbook in his closet, Takagi remembers his pre-accident studies and decides to enroll in medical school. During the course of his lessons, Takagi is involved with the dissection of cadavers when he becomes obsessed with one body in particular, and memories slowly begin to return.

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Vital

Critics Reviews

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David Rooney Variety 06/30/2005
Macabre yet oddly poignant, graphically physical but also metaphysical, clinical yet unexpectedly soulful. Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 01/27/2013
0/4
A typically worthless endeavor from noted hack Shinya Tsukamoto... Go to Full Review MaryAnn Johanson Flick Filosopher 02/11/2006
Beautiful and disturbing, this Asian horror art film explores the intersection between madness and grief with a serene calm that belies the psychological turmoil under its silken surface. Go to Full Review Josh Ralske All Movie Guide 08/04/2005
6/10
Vital offers its share of disturbing images and gristly medical-lab sound effects, but in the end, its pursuit of closure is surprisingly hopeful. Go to Full Review Daniel Kasman d+kaz. intelligent movie reviews 02/28/2005
B-
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Audience Reviews

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05/31/2015 Shin'ya Tsukamoto's masterfully crafted study of love and grief is brutally oppressive and grim. A challenging view, the main character is both literally and metaphorically deconstructing his love. See more 10/27/2013 The cinematography in this movie is nothing short of amazing, creating a poetic atmosphere. The story is way too out there... you need to get past the WTF factor to go along with it. See more 10/26/2012 A movie about the function of memory and personality; about sadness and loss; about dreams and reality. Tsukamoto does something here that most film-makers never do, even after making dozens of films: he gives us moments of stark, transcendental beauty. This is as close to visual literature as you will ever get. Ryoko's dancing embodies the title: as a ghost of a memory that will soon fade, she suddenly lives for all that she's worth. See more 04/21/2012 The constant sense of brooding is perfectly balanced by Director Shinya Tsukamoto's visual alchemy, visceral yet psychological. Vital is an exploration of how far the human mind can be bended before losing its marbles. See more 03/20/2012 Visually true to the man behind Tetsuo and A Snake of June Vital tells a dark and disturbing love story where love conquers all... and true love can never be truly forgotten. They say love can hurt and in Vital cuts deep to the heart of it dealing with psychosis, amnesia, brilliance, depression and even mild S&M in order to bring forth a film of a mad doctor to be who's madly in love with a lovely lady who's just plain mad. See more 02/09/2012 It's quite a bizarre movie - but as it goes further into the depths of Asano's keen interest - it becomes moreso See more Read all reviews
Vital

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Cast & Crew

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Shin'ya Tsukamoto

Director

Tadanobu Asano

Hiroshi Takagi

Nami Tsukamoto

Ryôko Ooyama

Kiki

Ikumi

Lily

Hiroshi's mother

Jun Kunimura

Mr. Ooyama, Ryôko's father
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Vital

Vital (2004) Vital (2004) Vital (2004) Vital (2004) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Following a devastating car accident that took both his memory and the life of his girlfriend (Nami Tsukamoto), Hiroshi Takagi (Tadanobu Asano) begins searching for answers. When he happens upon an anatomy textbook in his closet, Takagi remembers his pre-accident studies and decides to enroll in medical school. During the course of his lessons, Takagi is involved with the dissection of cadavers when he becomes obsessed with one body in particular, and memories slowly begin to return.
Director
Shin'ya Tsukamoto
Producer
Kiyo Joo, Shin-Ichi Kawahara, Ittoku Kishibe, Keiko Kusakabe, Koichi Kusakabe, Shin'ya Tsukamoto
Screenwriter
Shin'ya Tsukamoto
Distributor
Tartan Films USA
Production Co
Kaijyu Theater
Rating
R (Aberrant Sexual Behavior|Disturbing Images|Brief Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
May 18, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 29, 2020
Runtime
1h 26m
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